


A New Career

by Bluewolf458



Category: Stargate SG-1, The Sentinel
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 08:51:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10553518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Jim has disappeared...





	

A New Career

by Bluewolf

Although the sky was clear, cloudless and starry, the wind was blowing at storm force and the trees were shaking, bending under the force of it. Somewhere in the distance Blair could hear the crack of breaking and falling trees, but at least the ones beside him were young, their trunks thin and supple.

It was not the best of nights to spend in a tent. The wind shook the thin walls of the small one-man tent and flysheet, and Blair was glad that the extended flysheet that totally surrounded his tent reached right down to the ground.

Not to say that the wind couldn't get under it, but its attempts to make the material snap, with potentially damaging results, were minimal.

Blair shivered as he remembered another night of storm, years earlier, when the wind, snapping the less efficient flysheet of his then tent, bent a pole. The rest of that night had been spent in his car... which at least had been parked close to it. Or it might have been truer to say he had erected his tent close to his car.

It had taken meeting and going camping with Jim Ellison to persuade him that carrying tent and supplies a mile or more from the road was worth the effort... but it was only worth the effort if Jim was there. On his own...

No.

On his own, unless he had been on an expedition to somewhere, he preferred to camp close to his car and hike from it unencumbered.

Not that camping was much fun now. Not alone.

He had even managed to avoid going on any holidays, either camping or staying in a hotel, during the last year. Since he had graduated from the Police Academy.

For Jim had disappeared in the aftermath of the dissertation fiasco, while Blair had been attending the Police Academy in Olympia. His truck was sitting in its usual place in front of 852 Prospect, but when Simon checked it after Jim failed to appear at the PD one morning and there was no reply to a phone call, he found the loft empty - Jim was missing and there was no sign that he had packed a bag to take to wherever he had gone. But lying on the table was a letter transferring ownership of the loft to Blair, as well as one for Simon with his resignation.

Blair had blamed himself, but had finally accepted that he had done all he could to kill the fallout from his mother's misguided act. He finished his training and - thanks to the deal Simon had made with Commissioner Norris - joined Major Crime immediately, even though Jim was no longer there.

But - as Jim had done before him - he preferred to work alone as far as possible, and with a single minded determination to get as many of the bad guys off the street as possible.

Even after just a year of police work he had an excellent reputation and an average success rate that was close to the one Jim had had, in the days before his senses had re-emerged. Socially, however, he had pretty well cut himself off from everyone. He knew that there was still some talk about 'fraud' and he had no wish to see any of his MC colleagues disappear the way Jim had. Because he had a horrible conviction that Jim had disappeared because of _him_ \- that someone was out to have revenge on _him_ \- and what better way to do it than target anyone with whom he was friendly?

***

In early April Simon Banks had finally forced his youngest detective to take some of his annual leave.

Truth was, Blair had no wish for leave that was not accompanied by his missing partner. Work at least filled his days... and although he had found answers to some of them, not even Simon realized how much time he spent on the weekends filling the empty hours by reading over the reports on cold cases that he had taken home.

Naomi had tried to persuade him to accompany her on one of her shorter journeys (having reluctantly accepted that Blair was committed to his new career) but he had refused. For he believed that she too might be at risk if he was seen to be too friendly with her, too forgiving of what she had done, even though people would expect a son to be close to his mother.

Blair had become paranoid, convinced that knowing him other than superficially was dangerous for the other person.

For he knew without doubt that he had enemies - enemies who had nothing to do with his work with the police, and everything to do with his academic life. Brad Ventriss was one. Chancellor Edwards was another, although he had no idea why she so hated him. Dr. Acklam, one of whose pet theories regarding the Aztec he had disproved without much effort, a few months before the dissertation fiasco, simply by reading a fairly obscure Spanish document from that era that Acklam had completely ignored... At least because there was independent documentary proof Acklam couldn't claim that he made up t _hose_ facts.

And so, after Simon had told him bluntly that he would check the loft at irregular intervals to be sure Blair wasn't just spending his leave hiding out there, he had bought a new tent and driven to Silver Lake Park, where he had managed to get a site right at the edge of the camping area and as far away from everyone else camped there as possible.

The first two or three days had been pleasant enough; sunny but not too warm. Blair had spent them walking over some of the trails, nodding a polite acknowledgement to the two or three people he met also walking the trails; but the wind had begun to rise late the previous evening, and now was far, far too strong to be remotely pleasant. Blair decided that if it hadn't blown out by morning, he would pack up and leave.

He had no idea where he would go, but - quite apart from the wind - he felt he had already seen as much of Silver Lake Park as he wanted to.

Somewhere not too far off he heard panicked voices, and guessed that someone's tent had succumbed to the gale... He lay still for a moment, then sat up, pushed his feet into shoes, unzipped the flysheet door, hurried out and rezipped it, making sure it was secure, and ran over to where four young men were trying to do something with a collapsed tent. He helped them to separate out the poles (one bent at a right angle) from the tent and their belongings from inside the tent, helped them push everything except their sleeping bags into the trunk of their car, saw them settled in their sleeping bags inside the car, and returned to his own tent.

Nobody else had tried to help. But total loner though he had become, Blair knew he couldn't have lived with himself if he hadn't gone over, because it had quickly become clear that the four young men - he reckoned the oldest one was possibly eighteen - hadn't had the slightest idea how to cope with a collapsed tent.

As daylight crept in, with the wind still howling, Blair quickly packed up and drove away from the camp site, heading east. Nobody else was moving, not even the four teenagers sleeping in their car, uncomfortable though they had to be.

He had no immediate destination in mind but with ten days of his unwanted leave to fill, he was beginning to think that just driving, following his nose, would serve; if he ended up somewhere where walking was an option he could stop for a day or two... and if he ended up too far from Cascade to get back before the end of his official two weeks' leave, he was quite sure that as long as he let Simon know, Simon wouldn't worry, just be glad that he was taking one or two more days of his annual leave plus time off in lieu of overtime.

***

Blair drove across Washington and into Idaho, across Idaho and into Montana, then turned south through Wyoming and into Colorado, with no plan in mind but simply following an invisible pull. He stopped only when he felt he was too tired to drive safely, and around lunchtime on the sixth day he found himself driving into Colorado Springs, knowing that this was as far as he could go if he was to have any chance at all of getting back to Cascade without phoning Simon to ask for an extension to his leave.

He pulled into the parking lot of a supermarket, picked up a shopping cart and went into the store; his supply of food was almost finished and he needed to restock.

While he was studying the packeted soup, another man - this one carrying a basket - stopped beside him. After a moment, the man said, "Excuse me," and reached over to take a packet from in front of Blair.

The voice was somehow familiar, and Blair looked directly at him. The hair was different, but... "Daniel?"

"Yes, but - Blair?"

"It's got to be... what, at least eight years!" Blair exclaimed. "How are you? Why did you drop out of touch? I heard about the problems you had after you put forward your theory about the pyramids, and tried to contact you, but you'd dropped completely out of sight."

"It wasn't going to do anyone who was seen to be still speaking to me any good, career-wise - I thought it was better to just disappear for a while."

"I hear that. So what are you doing now?"

"I'm working with the Air Force as an interpreter."

"An interpreter? Well, you always had a gift for languages, but it does seem a terrible waste - " Blair stopped mid-sentence.

"What about you?" Daniel Jackson asked. "I heard about the press conference you gave. There's more to that than the obvious. The Blair Sandburg I know doesn't make up his facts. I'd have tried to get in touch but something came up involving my work, and - well - "

"It's... complicated," Blair said. "The document that publisher got hold of... I didn't send it to him, and when he contacted me I told him it wasn't for publication. He didn't listen to me. I had to do something to protect my informant... "

"So you'd found your sentinel." There was a note in Daniel's voice that Blair couldn't quite identify. "Were you his companion, his control?"

"Yes." Blair fell silent for a moment. "After the mess with Berkshire publishing, they got me a job with the police and I've been good at it, but... Jim disappeared, completely disappeared, a year ago, just about the time I finished at the Police Academy. The circumstances... We have to assume he chose to go, but...

"Anyway, I've been working as a detective for the past year - overworking, if I'm honest - and my Captain insisted that I take some leave time. I was just driving, going where the mood took me, and it - well, pulled me here. I'll have to turn here, though, and start heading back this afternoon if I'm to be back in Cascade for Monday... but I don't want to. Something brought me here, and I need to find out why."

"Blair... " Daniel hesitated for a moment. "Can you delay a couple of hours and come with me to see someone? You would need to sign a non-disclosure form because we're based in Cheyenne Mountain. It wouldn't be much more than a formality, though, unless..."

Again there was that odd note in Daniel's voice, and curiosity about it was enough to make Blair say, "Okay. If it makes me a day late getting back to Cascade... I doubt Simon will worry as long as I let him know I've been delayed. I still have a few days' leave entitlement."

"Simon?"

"Captain Banks - my boss."

"Ah."

They finished their shopping, Blair noting that Daniel had a slight limp, went out to their respective cars and put their purchases into the trunk of each. Daniel then drove to where Blair was parked, and Blair pulled out to follow him. As they went, he was still trying to make sense of that odd note in Daniel's voice, coupled with that weird 'formality - unless'. Unless what?

***

Blair thought the elevator would never stop going down. Just how far underground was this place, anyway?

But no elevator ride lasts forever, and eventually the car stopped, the door opened, and Daniel led the way out.

There was a man walking down the corridor, and Daniel called, "Walter!"

The man swung around and grinned. "Dr. Jackson." He glanced at Blair. "And this is?"

"An old friend, Blair Sandburg. I want him to meet General Hammond - will you keep him company while I go and have a word with Hammond? Oh, and he still has to sign a non-disclosure form."

"Want me to deal with that?"

Daniel nodded. "If you would. Blair, this is Sergeant Walter Harriman."

Blair grinned. "Hello, Sergeant."

"I'll come and get you in a few minutes, Blair."

"Okay."

Harriman took Blair down the corridor to a small office, where he opened a drawer in a filing cabinet and took out a paper. "Here you are, sir."

"Blair."

Harriman grinned. "Blair. And I'm Walter."

Blair took the paper and read through it. It seemed straightforward enough; anything he saw or heard here was confidential, and if he spoke about it to anyone he would be in breach of the Official Secrets Act and subject to two years' imprisonment.

Well, he didn't think it likely he'd see anything he'd want to speak about, but even if he did - voluble though he could be about certain things - he was accustomed to keeping quiet about certain other things. He could foresee no problems here, reached for a pen and scrawled his signature on the form, then handed it back to Harriman.

Naomi, he reflected, would be screaming, "The Public deserves to know!"

"Are you joining the geek squad, then?" Harriman asked.

 _Geek squad?_ What on earth? "I don't think so," Blair said. "Daniel wanted me to speak to General Hammond; that's all I know. The only reason he said I needed to sign that form is because he had to bring me here."

Behind him, the door opened. "Blair, General Hammond wants to see you now."

"Nice meeting you, Walter," Blair said, and turned to accompany Daniel.

"Nice meeting you," and then the door closed behind them.

Daniel led the way briskly along the corridor, then paused, knocked on a door and opened it. "Blair Sandburg, General. Blair, this is General Hammond."

"Mr. Sandburg."

"General."

Hammond studied Blair for a moment, then said quietly, "Dr. Jackson tells me that you are the companion and control for a sentinel who disappeared about a year ago."

For the briefest of moments, Blair wondered if he should insist on Daniel and Hammond signing a non-disclosure form concerning sentinels. Then he said quietly, "Yes."

"And that something drew you to here."

"Yes."

Hammond nodded. "Would your sentinel have been called Jim Ellison?"

Blair's jaw dropped open. "Jim's here?"

"At the moment, no. He... disappeared about a week ago. But if you were drawn to here... it's possible that you can find him."

"He... disappeared from Cascade because you took him?"

"We had need of his abilities... We did think of taking you as well; it was Major Ellison who said that although you did help him he had control and didn't need to drag you away from Cascade."

"Blessed Protector Syndrome..." Blair muttered. "So what's happened now?"

"He was on a mission for us... and disappeared."

"Blair, if you could be drawn to follow him here a year after he left Cascade, there's a fair chance you can track him down to where he is now," Daniel said.

"Except why wasn't I drawn straight to where he is now?" Blair asked.

"Because the only way to get there is from here."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry, Blair, but I sort of tricked you. That non-disclosure form you signed? It was more than just a formality."

"I had a feeling... " Blair murmured.

"What we do here involves the security of the entire world."

"The Public deserves to know!" Blair's mental ears caught the echo of Naomi's inevitable reaction.

"The story goes back a long way," Daniel was saying, "to a race we call the Ancients. They discovered a way to travel between worlds, using an artificial wormhole - we can travel to quite distant star systems using it.

"Anyway, out there is a hostile race of parasites called Goa'uld. They came  to Earth several thousand years ago, set themselves up as gods, mostly in ancient Egypt. For some reason they left Earth about two thousand years ago, having seeded a number of planets with 'colonists' - and presumably to prevent the Goa'uld from returning, the Egyptians buried the gate they used.

"Some years ago an excavation in Egypt uncovered the artifact - we call it a Stargate - and we discovered how it worked. Since then, Stargate Command - that's here - has been sending teams out to different worlds, partly looking for allies against the Goa'uld - and we've found several - partly looking for minerals not found on Earth.

"Everything about the Stargate is top secret - can you imagine the panic there would be, world-wide, if word about the Goa'uld became public knowledge?

"When your dissertation was released, although you denied it, we knew it was fact because I'd encountered a sentinel many years ago, in Egypt. We felt that a sentinel would be of considerable value to Stargate Command. The one I knew of in Egypt - if he's still alive - will be over seventy by now; but the one mentioned in the releases Berkshire made was still in his  thirties. So we went to see him, make him an offer... but of course he couldn't explain to anyone why he chose to... well, re-up, so he left that letter of resignation and just... disappeared. And he minimized to us what you do, I suppose because he didn't want to pressure you into disappearing as well. But you're his control; you proved that by being drawn to here, even after a year."

"So this new disappearance... is on another world?" Blair was surprised by how accepting he was of Daniel's story.

"Yes. There are three teams searching for him... but as his control you stand the best chance of finding him."

"I'd need to sign on, wouldn't I? If Jim's committed to working here, so am I."

"We wouldn't ask you to commit further than help us look for Major Ellison. He clearly didn't want to risk your safety... " Hammond said.

"Ah well, I'll have a little word with him about that!" Blair said. "He's my sentinel and although he has excellent control, there are still times he needs me. We belong together!"

"We can see about you joining SGC after you find him," Hammond said. "Meanwhile, we need to get you to P6D-183 as quickly as possible."

"I'm ready now."

"Dr. Jackson?" Hammond said.

"I'll get him kitted out and ready to go inside half an hour," Daniel said, "and go with him, obviously."

"Your leg injury?"

"Is nearly healed, and in any case all I have to do is introduce Blair to one of the search teams then leave him to get on with it."

***

It seemed no time at all before Blair, now dressed in BDUs and carrying a weapon Daniel called a zat, was standing in front of a huge circular 'thing' that Daniel called the Stargate. There was a blast of... something... from it, and then the circle settled into what looked like an opaque membrane.

"Let's go," Daniel said, and urged Blair forward.

Moments later they stepped out into fresh air and open countryside.

"Wow!" Blair muttered.

Daniel activated a radio. "Hi, Jack - where are you in relation to the Stargate?"

"Danny? Janet released you?"

"No, I'm here to bring another searcher. After I get him to you, I'll sit back and take it easy. Where are you?"

"About ten miles east of the Stargate. Sinche says there's a small, very secretive tribe somewhere this way, but nobody in his village knows where it actually lives."

Movement caught Daniel's eye. Blair was already beginning to move towards  the east; and there was no hesitation, no sense of doubt, in his movement.

"Blair?"

"I'll be all right - I know exactly where I'm going." His stride lengthened and he broke into a steady run.

Daniel knew he had no chance of catching up; his leg injury, while nearly healed, was enough of an inconvenience that he would only fall further and further behind, and in any case he knew better than to strain it.

"Danny? Danny!" Jack O'Neill's voice recalled him to the radio.

"I'm here. Blair just took off... "

"Blair?"

"Jim Ellison's control - the guy he said he didn't actually need. He's an old friend of mine though we hadn't seen each other for several years. He's on leave from Cascade PD and he told me something pulled him to Colorado Springs."

"After a year?"

"Sounds like a tight bond, doesn't it. And just now - he took off running, as if knew exactly where to go. Back at SGC he said Jim was over-protective - but from what I just saw, he's just as protective of his sentinel."

"Okay. We'll watch out for him. Now you get back - there's nothing more you can do, and you don't want Janet scolding you for neglecting your leg."

"I've been careful," Daniel protested, "but I agree, I got Blair here and the way he took off... even if I was totally fit I doubt I'd keep up with him! Heading back now. Bye!"

"Bye, Danny." The radio clicked off and Daniel turned to the DHD to punch in the sequence that would take him home.

***

Something was wrong! Something was terribly wrong! Something was threatening his sentinel!

Blair ran flat out, pushing himself, glad that the ground was even so that he could maintain his pace, glad of the two marathons he had run and that he had kept up with the training. Ten miles... he could run that in a little over an hour.

It seemed to take much longer than an hour, but he knew that it was only his fear of what was happening to Jim that made it seem so much more than an hour. Eventually he saw three people wearing BDUs in front of him, and slowed his pace. They might know something...

He was panting a little as he stopped. "Is there any word?"

"We only know that Ellison was in this area when he went missing," one of them, an older man, said.

Blair took two or three deep breaths as he looked around. "This way!" he said, and broke into a run again. He was half aware of being followed as he ran into a heavily wooded area.

The ground there was more uneven, and he reluctantly slowed to a jog. But the pull was strong, and there was no hesitation as he made his way through the trees to what he could only describe as a low - but unclimbable - cliff. He paused for a moment as he reached it, then turned left and jogged on for possibly a hundred yards and ducked around a big boulder. There was a cave entrance behind it; but it was dark inside the cave.

The people following - and he felt a bit like the Pied Piper when he saw that somehow he had gained more followers than the three he had already seen - paused behind him. The man who had spoken to him said quietly, "I've got a flashlight."

They walked through the cave. It was perhaps a hundred yards long, and opened into a flat area that looked as if it was deliberately cultivated.

Blair instantly broke into a run again, the others - who had kept up with him going through the trees - spreading out behind him, mostly unable to match his speed.

But Blair hadn't gone far when he saw several people gathered watching... something... and he knew that what they were watching was Jim.

A few steps closer and he saw one man bending over Jim, apparently trying to kiss him, and then he realized that this man was trying to feed Jim with something he had chewed into a swallowing consistency. Jim had his mouth firmly closed and was trying to turn his head away... but - Blair noted with horror - Jim was tied securely, and the man was holding his head.

Fury made Blair grasp the man's arm and haul him away from Jim. "Get the hell away from my sentinel!" A hard push sent the man staggering and Blair took the two or three steps that took him to Jim's side. He raked in his pocket for his Swiss Army knife and slashed the rope holding Jim, then caught Jim in his arms.

He was half aware of the SGC personnel stopping, watching...

"Chief... "

Jim's voice was hoarse.

"What was he doing?"

"Trying to imprint himself on my senses. Yes, he's a guide... but nowhere near your strength."

"You've been resisting him for a week?"

"I thought of trying to zone, but the way I was kept there, there wasn't anything I could zone on."

Someone caught Blair's shoulder and tried to pull him away from Jim.  //Mine!//

Even the one word told Blair that these people spoke Quechua. //No. He's mine, and I'll fight you for him.//

The man gripped Blair's shoulder even harder, pulling... Blair resisted for a moment, then relaxed and allowed himself to be pulled away. At the same time he twisted around and caught the man's other arm. The man screamed as his shoulder dislocated.

//The sentinel is mine!// Blair repeated.

One of the watching group stepped forward. //If he is your sentinel, why were you not with him when we found him?// There was a note of authority in his voice.

Blair stood, and looked at him. //You are?//

//I am Atau, chief of this tribe.//

Blair lowered his head, acknowledging the man's rank.

//The sentinel is mine,// he repeated. //But there are times when I must leave him to work alone. I am a shaman of my people, and sometimes my duties as shaman must take precedence over my sentinel's needs.//

Atau nodded. //I understand,// he said. He looked at the man who was lying on the ground trying to control his whimpers of pain. //What did you do to Paucar?//

//I dislocated his shoulder. If he agrees not to approach Enqueri again, I will repair the damage. It will be painful, but in a few days he will be able to use his arm as if nothing had happened.// He looked down at Paucar. //You will leave Enqueri to me?//

//Yes!//

Blair sat beside him, put one foot in his armpit, grasped his arm and pulled. Paucar screamed again as the joint went back into place, then relaxed.

//Use your arm as little as possible for a few days.//

Paucar nodded.

//And Paucar - you are looking for a sentinel. When you find one - if he is truly yours you will both know it, and come together in joy. There could very well be one in the land through the cave - //

//I felt the presence of... of your sentinel...//

//Who is only visiting here.//

//We came here through the chappa'ai,// Jim said.

It was immediately clear that the men who were watching and listening didn't understand the word. //The big ring that stands west of here,//  Blair said.

//The ring that the demons came through when they still visited us?// Atau asked.

//Yes,// Blair said, guessing that he meant the Goa'uld. //But the demons are our enemies too.//

Jim nodded. //We fight them every chance we get.//

//They were why our tribe came here, generations ago when we found the cave that led us here,// Atau said.

//And this is your land,// Blair agreed. //But there is now no reason why you can't contact the tribes living on the other side of the cave. You could very well find Paucar's sentinel there, and that could only benefit both you and the tribe the sentinel belong to.//

//Will they not be suspicious of us?//

//They know of you,// Blair said. //They just didn't know where you lived.//

A man stepped forward from behind the Stargate personnel. //I am Sinche, chief of the tribe that lives closest to your cave. The shaman is correct. We knew of you, but not how to reach you. We will be happy to trade with you. My tribe does not have a sentinel, but I know a tribe that does, and know that he is struggling without a companion; we can take Paucar to him.//

//I hope this will be Paucar's sentinel,// Blair said. He looked over to the Stargate personnel. "Did you get what you wanted when you came here?"

The man who answered was the one who had spoken to him before. "Colonel O'Neill. We didn't actually get what we hoped to find here, at least this time, but Sinche said that we are welcome to send another exploratory team, and we'll send SG18 - their geek is a mineralogist. Sinche's word seems to count for a lot - he's a sort of chief among the tribal chieftains, so when he said it would be all right... well, nobody will argue with him."

"Geek?" Blair asked, remembering Harriman's comment about 'the geek squad'.

"All our teams have a civilian member with some kind of specialist knowledge. Quite a few have a doctorate in their field. We tend to refer to them as 'the geek squad'. Unfortunately, Danny's the only linguist we have, though that makes him a valued member of SG1. The thing is, the people on most of the planets we've visited have originally come from Earth, planted here by the Goa'uld, so even though their languages have often evolved, the similarities are enough for Danny to follow them. So - since you could speak with these people - are you a linguist too?"

Blair shook his head. "I know two or three languages, including this one - and I'd guess you realized Jim knows it too. I'm an anthropologist, my main interest is the meso- and south American tribes. From what you say, these people must have originally come from northern South America. Did Jim do the translating for you?"

"Danny did the main negotiating before he hurt his leg and we sent him home because we knew Jim spoke the language and we could continue to get to know these people. Then Jim disappeared so we stayed on to look for him."

"Does Sinche understand that whoever comes here won't be able to communicate with him?"

"He understands that the man who negotiated with him is no longer here. But perhaps you'd better remind him that although you speak the language, once you - and Jim - also leave, there won't be any of our people here who can communicate with him."

//Sinche, do you understand that most of our people don't speak your language? Once Enqueri and I leave, there will be nobody you will be able to understand?//

//We discussed this with the one called Daniel. If your people find the rocks you seek, they will contact Daniel and he will come back to discuss how we will trade.//

"Whoever does your prospecting will contact Daniel and he'll come back to discuss a trade agreement," Blair told O’Neill.

O'Neill nodded. "Fine. And now I think we'd better call for SG18 and once it's here we get the hell off this planet."

Blair turned back to Sinche. //We're going back now to the Big Ring, and once the men looking for the rocks come through it, we'll go home.//

//I understand.//

//Nice meeting you, Sinche, Atau. And Paucar - good luck in finding your sentinel.// He nodded to O'Neill, who turned and began to lead the way back to the cave.

***

The journey back to the Stargate took about four times as long as Blair's mad dash to reach his sentinel, and he was aware of an unstated respect from the others - he knew, because Daniel had radioed - he assumed O'Neill - that they knew when he had left the Stargate, and when he arrived beside them.

They dialed home and went through, to be met by General Hammond. Hammond looked at Jim. "I want a word, Major." As Jim moved to his side, Hammond added, "You too, Mr. Sandburg."

Hammond led the way to his office, gestured them to chairs and took his place behind his desk.

"So… what happened to you, Major?"

Jim was silent for a moment. "I was taken by surprise."

"With your senses?"

"I had them turned right down. Sometimes that's the only way to control them."

"And was there no one else near you? You know better than be alone on an alien world."

"Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter weren't far away, but I was out of their sight. A group of natives came up behind me and before I could call out they had thrown a cloth over my head. Moments later they'd picked me up and were running... One of them had recognized that I was a sentinel, and tried to bond with me. He was a guide, but not a very strong one. And then Blair came..."

"I see. And yet you told us that you didn't need him to maintain control."

"I... " He looked at the ground for a moment. "I'd already cost him one career - his chosen career as an anthropologist. He was almost finished training at the Police Academy. I didn't want him to lose that new career as well."

"Jim, you're an idiot!" Blair said before Hammond could comment. "Don't you realize that you are my career? I don't really care what I do as long as we're working together."

Jim looked at him. "How did you end up here? General, you didn't - "

"Simon made me take some leave time. I was just driving fairly aimlessly when I felt something drawing me here. I bumped into Daniel, who's an old friend; and he brought me here. I went through the Stargate and right away knew where you were. You know the rest."

"Yes, and you took a big chance when you took off on your own," Hammond said. "You heard what I said to Major Ellison about not being alone on an alien world."

"But you didn't tell me that, General. When we stepped out on the planet, I could feel Jim; I knew where he was; Daniel couldn't come with me, not with a leg injury - and once I reached him, Colonel O'Neill made sure there was someone with me."

Hammond looked from Blair back to Jim. "Do you still say you don't really need him, Major?"

Jim sighed. "No. I do need him - I just... "

"Didn't want to coerce him into coming here?"

"It's been a difficult year for me," Blair said, looking directly at Jim. "All I had was work. I told Simon I didn't want a partner; I worked alone.  I have a good solve rate, but I wasn't happy. I wanted you beside me. So, General - " he turned his attention to Hammond - "for the record - I want to work here, work with Jim. I might have to go back to Cascade for a few days to resign and do something about our home, but I'm willing to see what a phone call will do."

"Major Ellison has proved his worth here," Hammond said, "but I think he'll do even better with you beside him. What skills do you have apart from acting as his control?"

"One or two languages, a knowledge of the meso- and South American tribes, and the ability to observe the way people live and form an educated picture of what's important to them."

Hammond nodded slowly. "I think you two could form a good basis for a new team, though with your abilities, Major, I think you'll probably be of more value working as you've been doing, with SG1. Now - if you want to make a phone call or two, I'll leave you in Dr. Jackson's capable hands."

***

They found Simon more understanding than they had expected - as well as glad Jim had sort-of surfaced again. He agreed to take responsibility for the loft, (subsequently sending them their personal things and establishing Daryl in it as a tenant - Daryl had decided to attend Rainier prior to making a final decision about a career, though he still favored joining Cascade PD.)

They sent their best wishes to their friends in Major Crime, agreed to keep in touch, and turned their attention back to their Stargate careers.

Jim already had a house in Colorado Springs; Blair moved in with him.

On their first evening together in the house, Jim said quietly, "I'm sorry, Chief. Walking away... it wasn't the best option, but all I could think of was keeping you safe."

"Jim - the safest I'm ever going to be is working at your side. Now - let's forget guilt and work at making a success of our new lives. Just remember - I'm a competent adult, and while I think a zat will always be my weapon of choice, I've got a gun and I know how to use it."

Jim wrapped an arm around Blair's shoulders. "You always were a competent adult - even though we called you 'kid', we always knew it. I wouldn't have been half as successful as I was if you hadn't - well, wriggled your way into my life.

"Now - enough of the soppy stuff. What do you want for dinner? There's a really good Chinese that delivers - and this first night together again, I think that's probably a good bet?"

Blair grinned. "Definitely," he said, and Jim went to get the menu. He knew what Blair would probably order - but it didn't do any harm to give him a choice.


End file.
